HEALTH INFORMATION

Types of Fats

Topic Overview

Fats are nutrients that give you
energy. Fats have 9 calories in each gram. Fats help in the absorption of fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E, and K. Fats are either saturated or
unsaturated, and most foods with fat have both
types. But usually there is more of one
kind of fat than the other.

Saturated fat

Saturated fat is solid at room
temperature, which is why it is also known as "solid fat." It is mostly in animal
foods, such as milk, cheese, and
meat. Poultry and fish have less saturated fat than red meat. Saturated fat is
also in tropical oils, such as coconut oil, palm oil, and cocoa butter.
You'll find tropical oils in many snacks and in
nondairy foods, such as coffee creamers and whipped
toppings. Foods made with butter, margarine, or shortening (cakes, cookies, and other desserts) have a lot of saturated fat. Saturated fat can raise your
cholesterol. A healthy diet has less than 10% of daily calories from saturated fat.1

Trans fat

This is a fat that has been
changed by a process called hydrogenation. This
process increases the shelf life of fat and
makes the fat harder at room
temperature. Harder fat makes crispier crackers and flakier pie crusts. Trans
fat can raise your cholesterol, so eat as
little trans fat as possible. You'll find it
in:

Processed foods.

Snack foods,
such as chips and crackers.

Cookies.

Some margarine
and salad dressings.

Foods made with shortening and partially
hydrogenated oils.

Unsaturated fat

Unsaturated fat is liquid at room
temperature. It is mostly in oils from plants.
If you eat unsaturated fat instead of saturated fat, it
may help improve your cholesterol levels. Try to eat mostly
unsaturated fats. Monounsaturated fat and polyunsaturated fat are types of unsaturated fat.

Monounsaturated fat:
This fat is in avocado, nuts, and vegetable oils, such as canola, olive, and peanut oils. Eating
foods that are high in monounsaturated fats may help lower your "bad"
LDL cholesterol. Monounsaturated fats may
also keep "good" HDL cholesterol levels high. But eating more unsaturated
fat without cutting back on saturated fat may
not lower your cholesterol.

Polyunsaturated fat: This type of fat is mainly in vegetable oils such as safflower,
sunflower, sesame, soybean, and corn oils. Polyunsaturated fat is also the main
fat found in seafood. Eating polyunsaturated fat in place of saturated fat
may lower LDL cholesterol. The two types of polyunsaturated fats are omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids.

Omega-3 fatty acids are found in foods from plants like soybean oil, canola oil, walnuts, and flaxseed. They are also found in fatty fish and shellfish as eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA). Salmon, anchovies, herring, sardines, Pacific oysters, trout, Atlantic mackerel, and Pacific mackerel are high in EPA and DHA and lower in mercury. A healthy diet includes 8 ounces or more of these types of fish a week, averaging 250 mg a day of these omega-3 fatty acids.1

Related Information

References

Citations

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, U.S.
Department of Agriculture (2010). Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2010, 7th ed. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing
Office. Also available online:
http://health.gov/dietaryguidelines/2010.asp.

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, U.S.
Department of Agriculture (2010). Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2010, 7th ed. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing
Office. Also available online:
http://health.gov/dietaryguidelines/2010.asp.

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